Question

The California populations of the Northern elephant seal are descendants from a very small population of seals that was over-hunted in the 1890s. Heterozygosity in this population would be expected to be ________ due to _______________.

1) great; disruptive selection
2) slight; the founder effect
3) slight; a bottleneck effect
4) great; assortive mating
5) great; a bottleneck effect

Answer 1

The expected heterozygosity in the California population of Northern elephant seals would be slight due to the founder effect.

Step-by-step explanation:

The expected heterozygosity in the California population of Northern elephant seals would be slight due to the founder effect.

The founder effect occurs when a small group of individuals migrates away from a larger population and establishes their own population. This new population will have a different genetic structure compared to the original population. In the case of the Northern elephant seal, the population is descended from a small group of seals that survived over-hunting in the 1890s. This founder population had limited genetic variation, which has been passed down to present-day California elephant seals.